


Shelter

by lawyerboyfriends



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Episode: s17e19 Sheltered Outcasts, Hurt Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 08:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13027362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lawyerboyfriends/pseuds/lawyerboyfriends
Summary: “You’ll tell me if you need to see a doctor?” At the answering nod of Sonny’s head against his chest, Rafael sighed and gently rubbed his back, carefully avoiding the place where he knew a deep bruise was already blossoming under his pale skin. “Then let me help you feel better,” he whispered, his breath ghosting over his head and serving to mess his hair up even more than it already was from the beanie he had taken to wearing while undercover.





	Shelter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lifeisruined](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lifeisruined/gifts).



As Rafael slid into bed next to him and wrapped his arms around him, Sonny roused from where he was sprawled on the bed and let out a small groan of pain. “Fuck, babe, it _hurts_ ,” he ground out, squirming in a vain attempt to relieve the ache in his back, his face scrunching up in discomfort.

Rafael reached out and smoothed an errant curl back from his face, looking down at the pained crease between his eyebrows with concern. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”

“Nothing broken, I don’t think,” Sonny whispered, shaking his head.

“Sonny, Liv told me they came after you with a baseball bat. There are a lot of other things that could be wrong besides a broken bone.”

He made a noise of protest low in his throat. “Don’t wanna go to the hospital, wanna stay here with you.” Sighing deeply, he buried his face in Rafael’s chest. “I have to go back to the shelter soon or the guys will wonder where I’ve been.”

“You’ll tell me if you need to see a doctor?” At the answering nod of Sonny’s head against his chest, Rafael sighed and gently rubbed his back, carefully avoiding the place where he knew a deep bruise was already blossoming under his pale skin. “Then let me help you feel better,” he whispered, his breath ghosting over his head and serving to mess his hair up even more than it already was from the beanie he had taken to wearing while undercover.

Sonny chuckled darkly. “I’m not really sure anything could make this feel better, Rafi.” He buried his head deeper into the warmth of Rafael’s chest, paying no mind to the way the expensive shirt rumpled against his head.

Humming softly, Rafael pressed a kiss into Sonny’s messy hair. “Maybe not, but I still think a nice bath could help you feel a lot better. I imagine the shelter’s showers leave much to be desired.”

“That does sound nice. I’m not so sure about moving from this bed, though.”

Rafael smiled at that and let Sonny continue lying in his arms for a few more minutes before he coaxed him up out of the bed as gently as he possibly could. Sonny still hissed as the movement pulled at his injury, but he didn’t complain as Rafael led him to the bathroom and he waited patiently on the lid of the toilet as Rafael busied himself running a bath for him and quickly divested himself of his own clothes before turning back to Sonny and stepping between his legs.

Smiling down at him softly, Rafael made quick work of unzipping Sonny’s jacket and gently removing it from his shoulders, careful not to jostle his injuries. He applied the same level of care as he removed the rest of Sonny’s layers before helping Sonny stand so he could remove his jeans. He could feel the shaking in Sonny’s legs as he struggled to stay upright, and he allowed Sonny to lean heavily against him as lead him to the bathtub.

Rafael helped Sonny over the threshold of the bathtub first before clambering in behind him, and together they sat on the floor of the bathtub. The tension drained out of Sonny’s body as he took his place between Rafael’s legs, and he hummed as he laid back against his chest, the warmth of the bath and of Rafael’s bare chest offering him some respite from the pain that had been building in his back. “Feels good, Rafi,” he murmured, letting his eyes slide shut as his boyfriend’s arms came up around him to hold him.

After long minutes of just letting the warmth sink into their bodies, Rafael reached out to grab their shampoo and lathered it up between his hands before turning his attention to Sonny’s hair. Just a few days spent in the shelter had done a number on Sonny’s hair. The hard water from the shelter’s showers had left his hair dry and coarse, and the beanies he had been wearing almost constantly during his stay at the shelter had trapped sweat in his hair, leaving it completely unkempt and in need of care.

Sonny’s breath gusted out as Rafael worked the shampoo into his hair, his fingers massaging at his scalp and easing built up tension out of his fatigued muscles. He let his head fall back against Rafael’s chest and he soaked up the care that Rafael was showing him. It was a far cry from the atmosphere of the shelter, where he could feel the judgment of everyone around him, even rapists and sex offenders, weighing down on him. He couldn’t even venture outside of the shelter without being judged by the people of the town, had even been attacked for it, and the physical disguise he had affected was also taking its toll on him. He had always put a lot of pride into taking care of his hair, and now, he had to keep his hair unkempt and disheveled. In the few short days he had been in the shelter, he had come to associate that with the character he was portraying. With being dirty, unclean, othered. He was missing his sense of normalcy.

But Rafael’s hands in his hair and the warmth of his body around him felt like home. He moaned as his hands turned to the knots in his neck and shoulders, and he could feel the vibrations of Rafael chuckling course through his back.  

“You like that?”

“Love it,” he moaned, letting his his head loll back. “Wish I could stay here forever.”

With gentle hands, Rafael continued his ministrations, pausing briefly only to rinse Sonny’s hair until the water ran clear before starting again. He made no move to stop working at his tired muscles until Sonny mumbled softly, voice loose and barely more than a whisper, “Gonna fall asleep if you don’t stop that.”

“How about we catch a few hours before you have to go back? I’m sure your accommodations at the shelter can’t be the most comfortable.”

Sonny didn’t protest as Rafael helped him out of the bathtub and wrapped him in a fluffy white bathrobe, and let himself be guided to their bed. Rafael disappeared for a few minutes and Sonny blinked owlishly, struggling to stay awake long enough to fall asleep next to Rafael. After a few brief moments that seemed to stretch on forever, Rafael returned with a heating pad and a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol in tow. He administered the painkillers to Sonny before plugging the heating pad into the wall and draping it over Sonny’s side.

“How does that feel?”

“Just get in the bed already, I can’t stay that long.”

He could hear the sound of Rafael’s easy laughter above him, but the feel of the bed dipping before Rafael’s arms wrapped around him a moment later was even more welcome. He had to leave soon, had to make up an excuse for his absence at the shelter, but for now, he could just lie in Rafael’s arms and feel safe.

And all the rest, well, he could worry about that later.


End file.
